Chapter 29

"It's the opportunity we've been waiting for!" Shaw fairly oozed excitement. "Now we can begin to truly interact, to see them in their homes, to really learn about them!"

Igwanda noted dourly how the first officer, with no role in the mission other than as pilot, so eagerly used the first person plural to include himself in the ranks of the scientists. But he kept his observation to himself. And it was true that the scientific contingent, down to even the usually stolid Heisinger, patently shared the mate's enthusiasm for the coming event—a visit inside the native village.

Three Eden days after Toshimura's talk with the alien Meiersdottir, true to her word, had announced to both the lander complement and her impatient colleagues aboard the Gardener that she had decided it was now time to reconstitute the surface party. There was no question of dispatching the second lander; it must remain on the mothership for emergency purposes, since if anything happened to both vehicles there would be no way for those on Eden to be retrieved. So this lander would lift off back to the Gardener and return with a new crew—this time with but a single military member. She herself would come back, as would Lee, and Shaw would again pilot, but the balance of the returning crew would be new.

"And we also need to bring materials to establish a more permanent surface base," she added. "There's no need for us to continue camping out in the lander. That way we can use the vessel itself to taxi people back and forth and not restrict ourselves to just a few at a time on Eden. Remember, we have limited time here, we need to maximize our use of it."

Privately Igwanda thought the decision dismayingly premature, but he was becoming accustomed to muting his concerns in the face of the scientists' open acceptance of the friendly demeanor the natives had thus far displayed. And indeed, he was coming himself to relax somewhat. Opportunities for the natives to initiate an assault with at least some certain casualties to the human party had abounded, yet there had been nothing even resembling hostility; the friendliness really did seem genuine. He put off his subliminal unease on the simple discomfort he felt in a truly alien environment in which he was not, could not be, in the full control he might have felt back on Earth.

When Meiersdottir announced her plans the next morning shortly after the pavilion session opened, Igwanda again noticed the widening of native eyes but ascribed it simply to surprise. A few moments later Joe vanished quietly back into the woodland—the first time the colonel could remember it absenting itself from the meetings—but soon returned with its unexpected invitation. Since the humans were leaving, would they not like to accompany it and its fellows on a visit to the village itself?

"Guard, too," it said. "Guard come. All guard, all come, all human. You ask how we live, not easy talk, now you see, your eyes. We show you."

As the native may well have intended, inclusion of the guards in the invitation partially allayed any serious fears Igwanda might have felt. Things could still happen, but his charges would have protection. Not that he could have discouraged the visit had he wished to. This was an event that had been eagerly awaited by all save the soldiers, and none were prepared to even listen to any security objections.

Meiersdottir immediately accepted on behalf of all of them. They could be ready, she told Joe, within only a short time, but they would need to return briefly to the lander first in order to provision themselves. Joe appeared disappointed at even this short delay, but after a slight hesitation offered no objection and the human party headed back. It was after they'd cycled through the airlock that Shaw burst out.

"All right, Bernard, all right," Meiersdottir cut him off briskly. "We have only a few minutes and we need them. I want us all to take some cold rations with us, just in case this goes on to a mealtime for them. And we all need to stay together, nobody wanders off on their own. The ones who've been with us know us, but the other natives don't and we don't want to present them with surprises. Carlos, do you have any security matters?"

There was a collective groan at this last, with Shaw expressing what was clearly their collective sentiment with a grumbled "Are we still worrying about that security horseshit?" Igwanda ignored him.

"Two things only," he said. "First, I agree we must all stay together. We go as a group, even if they suggest separating. Second, if any member of our party feels threatened that person should react immediately. I will shout 'suits!' if I perceive a threat, to mean that you should immediately activate your suits. The electric shocks will not be lethal, so even a false alarm should not permanently destroy the progress in our relationship, but I must require that all of you respond instantly to such a command. Anyone else should do the same and call 'suits!' if they perceive threatening behavior of any sort."

The not-so-quiet grumbling intensified.

"I do not expect a threat," he continued, somewhat quieting the rebellious crew. "But it is best to be prepared. You may think me foolish for retaining a concern, but please delay making that a firm conclusion until after our visit. Thank you."

Igwanda had one other precaution to arrange, but did so privately with his troops. Zo, as junior, would remain aboard the lander. The colonel was loath to leave it entirely unmanned, especially since it was their communications link to the Gardener. Igwanda told him to remain alert to even slight deviations in the established normal behavior of the aliens, and to immediately report anything unusual.